348 



DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



for flavouring coffee, being similar to chicory. Its young 

 blanched leaves are used as salad. 



Scorzonera {Scorzonera hispanica). A perennial, native of 

 Spain. Salsafy (Tragopogon porrifolius). A biennial, native 

 of this country. These are both cultivated in gardens for the 

 sake of their roots, those of the former being lik^ a carrot, 

 but black outside, white inside ; those of the latter not so 

 large. They are used in various ways. 



Artichoke [Cynara scolymus). A native of the countries 

 of the Mediterranean, and known in this country for at least 

 three hundred years. It is a hardy perennial, with large 

 gashed leaves, 2 or 3 feet long, of a greyish colour, and is 

 cultivated for its flower-heads, which are composed of large 

 scales, the base being thick and called Artichoke bottoms, the 

 part used as a vegetable. 



Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus). A native of the South of 

 Europe. It has been known in this country for above two 

 hundred years, and is allied to the preceding, but the part 

 used as a vegetable is the blanched leaf-stalks. Its flowering 

 head is smaller than the Artichoke, and is crowned with 

 pretty blue flowers that are said to curdle milk. 



Camomile (Anthemis nohilis). A hardy perennial or rather 

 evergreen shrublet with fine cut leaves, native of Britain. 

 There are two varieties, one with single and the other with 

 double flowers. They are greatly used as a tonic, being 

 extremely bitter, also as emetic, and in fomentations. The 

 plant is extensively grown at Mitcham in Surrey, and in 

 Derbyshire. The double sort is generally sold in chemists' 

 and druggists' shops, whereas the single is purchased and sold 

 exclusively at Apothecary's Hall. An oil is extracted from 

 the entire plant, one variety yielding a blue and the other a 

 green oil. 



Flea powder {Byretlirum carneum, P. roseum and P. pur- 

 puremn). Natives of Caucasus. They are perennial plants 

 with much divided leaves, and probably forming only one 

 species, varying in the colour of their flowers, as indicated by 

 their names. A preparation was at one time made from the 



